HOMILY OF FRIDAY OF THE TWENTHY NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
YEAR C. 24TH OCTOBER 2025.
BY REV FR. ADOLE ACHILLEUS ILE LAMPEZ CSSp
1st reading : Romans 7:18-25
Psalm 118:66,68,76-77,93-94
Gospel : Luke 12:54-59
In the first reading today, St. Paul picked up an important topic that I find very difficult to bypass and reflect on the gospel as I would have preferred, but for the sake of the urgency, the need to talk about this cannot be undermined.
One major challenge to our faith as Christians concerning how we practice our faith is the societal perspectives on the rights and wrongs, which also have the power to influence the lives of Christians as there is almost no clear line between good and bad actions anymore in our societies.
This battle between right and wrong is not only in the society in which we live. It is also in the human person itself. The battle between the physical components of a man and his spiritual components or, in simple terms, the battle between the desires of the body and that of the soul.
In the letter of St. to the Romans, the apostle shared his personal story of the challenges he endured as one chosen to serve God. These were challenges he couldn’t get over easily on his own except for the grace of God. He said, “… every single time I want to do good, it is something evil that comes to hand. In my inmost self, I dearly love God’s Law, but I can see that my body follows a different law that battles against the law, which my reason dictates. This is what makes me a prisoner of that law of sin which lives inside my body….”
Just like Paul shared with us today, in our Christian calling, each of us faces challenges doing things we wouldn’t have done and not doing some other things we would have loved to do right.
This story should serve as an encouragement for us Christians who are facing different challenges as we try to live out our Christian lives. St. Paul recognised the major challenge in his life, and also realised that the grace of God in his life was sufficient for him, therefore, he never allowed the challenges he faced to overshadow the grace of God in his life and the work he was to do.
We, too, despite the challenges posed by our weaknesses, must recognise and rely on the grace of God in our lives, never to allow these challenges weigh us down but to continue striving to do what our call as Christians entailed.
Peace be with you
